Airline Membership Club:
Each large Airline has its own member club, smaller airlines may not have its own member club but is affiliated to another airlines member club. For example Qantas has a frequent flyer program called “Qantas Frequent Flyer”, Affiliated to this are the following airlines: JetConnect, Jetstar Airways, Qantas Link, and Air Vanuatu. So If I had a Qantas Frequent Flyer number with Qantas, I could collect points with the affiliates as well since it is all part of the same club.
Another example would be Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) with a frequent flyer program called “Eurobonus”. Affiliated to this are the following airlines:Blue 1, and Widerøe. All 3 airlines belong to the same SAS Group so I would collect Eurobonus points flying with either.
Airline Alliance Group:
Each club belongs to an Alliance group. There are 3 main groups of concern: Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance. Below are 3 images showing all 3 Alliances and the associated members.
So sticking to the Qantas example I can collect points with Qantas, Qantas affiliates, or Qantas Alliance partner Airlines. In this case the partner airlines are the 14 other airlines in bed with Qantas under the Alliance umbrella “Oneworld”.
Similarly if I was part of the SAS Eurobonus program then I will be able to collect points from Scandinavian Airlines or any of its 27 “Star Alliance” partners.
Which one to Choose?
1: Always choose a Frequent Flyer club that belongs to an Alliance Group.
If you select an Airline that belongs to an alliance that you will have the chance to collect points with your host membership airline and its partners. It will also allow you to spend points with the host airline or partners.
2: Always select one of the big players or your own regional airline to reap the rewards.
Eurobonus is a good example here, it also has Hotel partners and Other partners. What this means is for example is I travel from Oslo to Athens. I will collect 5630 points for the return flight, I will stay at a partner hotel like Radisson Hotel & Resorts and collect 500 points per night, I will rent a car with Avis and collect 1000 points for that transaction, and to top it all I will pay with my American Express card and collect 20 points for every 100 Norwegian Kroners I spent. So I end up collecting a fair amount of points for one trip.
3: You can have Alliance membership with all 3 if it fits your schedule.
The best way to travel is to stick to one Airlines in one Alliance group to maximize the points return. However if you live in a part of the world where getting access to one group is difficult then you should join two groups to be collecting the points.
Membership Levels
The membership tier status levels of each Alliance has a different ranking system:
Star Alliance: Silver◄ Gold ◄ Diamond
OneWorld: Ruby◄ Sapphire◄ Emerald
SkyTeam: Sky team Elite ◄ Sky team Elite Plus
The ones in Bold above is where the magic happens. Lounge access worldwide, Extra baggage allowance, Priority baggage handling are the main benefits among the other small but great gestures/rewards.
The lounge access is the most important to me as the long haul flights can be draining, so having access to warm food, drinks and a bathroom with shower facilities rocks. The other main benefits outside the airport include 2 for 1 tickets bought on points, simple flights bought with points, and using points for free hotel nights.
How much work is it to get to 2nd or 3rd tier Status?
Getting to the higher status is hard work and requires a lot of flights or some long haul flights in a higher ticket class (First or business). Most airlines allow status evolution via number of flights or simply by points earned per flight. Once you are locked into the higher status it becomes easier to earn points. For example as a Eurobonus Gold or Diamond member you earn 25% extra points for each flight. So it is worth it.
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